Wally O'Malley
February 27, 2021 12:50 PM
In front of Mom, God, and everybody by Wally O'Malley
The letter was full of all the usual stuff. The it’s on not you, it’s me and let’s stay friends that you would expect from a break-up letter on a TV show. You know, the kind of place where there weren’t real people involved or real feelings to be hurt. But this was real life, and there was really a young girl’s feelings on the line here.Wally could hardly believe his eyes. Valentine deserved so much better than being dumped in a generic letter. Also, she deserved way better than Stanley, anyway, but she should have been dumping him. Preferably to his face when the school year kicked back up again.
There was not much conscious thought in Wally’s mind. This was all just feeling, and that feeling curled and contorted into a white, hot rage like he had never felt before. And with no input from his brain, he watched his fist fly out and connect with Stanley’s stupid face.
His brother stumbled away from him, perhaps more in shock than in pain, his hands animalistically rising to protect the injury. When he straightened himself and lowered his arms, Wally saw that Stanley’s lip was split and bleeding. The twins, though fraternal, wore identical looks of horror.
This look was not lost on the other occupants of the room, too. The whole family was together, spending time just after post-dinner chores had been completed. Wally had forgotten they were there. Stanley liked to roughhouse sometimes, but no one could recall a time where the skin had ever been broken, just bruised here and there. Now, in front of Mom, God, and everybody, he had drawn the first blood.
“Wallace!” Mom shouted immediately, the surprise more audible than the anger. Had she ever scolded him before? Certainly not recently, and certainly not like this. “Go to your room right now!”
“I’ll go to the guest room,” Wally stated as he began trudging off. “I want my own bedroom. I don’t want to share anymore.”
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Wally O'Malley
In front of Mom, God, and everybody
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